TECHNICAL TRAINING - SWAPPING DOWNTIME FOR PRODUCTIVITY!
Declan McEvoy
Training Instructor
ABOUT automation.ie
We are Technical Training providers in various technical disciplines to industries who use automation. We were founded in 2001. We specialise in the delivery of training in the following key areas
Our services are directed mainly to the manufacturing and process industries throughout Ireland. Take a moment to browse through our website. It will give you an easy overview of our training courses, their associated Fact-Sheets taken directly from our training manuals, a syllabus for each course available for download in short format and in detailed format as well as other valuable learning related content.
ABOUT Your Instructor
Hello, my name is Declan McEvoy. I graduated in Mechanical Engineering from Bolton Street Institute of Technology in Dublin in 1982. Since then I have worked with many aspects of engineering for over 35 years, specialising in a hands-on capacity in the area of Electro-Mechanical automation. The key areas of my working career have been in the design, commissioning, maintenance and preventative maintenance of high-tech production equipment used in various types of manufacturing industries here in Ireland and overseas. In addition, I have considerable experience in identifying learning gaps for Technician and Engineers. I can follow this on by developing and delivering related technical training programs to bridge those learning gaps.
I worked for United Technologies, MOSTEK in Dublin, semiconductor manufacturers then with Bourne's Electronics in Cork, electronic component manufacturers. I worked as a service Engineer on electro-photostatic copiers in Western Australia then moved to the Silicon Valley area of California and worked with Elantec in Milpitas, hybrid semiconductor manufacturers and later with Amdahl Corporation in Sunnyvale, mainframe computer manufacturers.
Fortunately, with many of the companies that I worked with, there was an ethos of up-skilling of newer Technicians and Engineers. This was my introduction to the concept of industry based training. Regrettably however, it was also at this point that I witnessed highly experienced individuals who unfortunately lacked the ability to pass on that wealth of knowledge to the newer Technicians and Engineers. This of course was regrettable for these new employees and stifled their ability to come up to speed quickly. To address this on a personal level I undertook formal studies in area of Education and Training and over the subsequent years I have become an advocate for the concept of industry based training. I take pride in the various training packages that I developed and delivered to technical and engineering personnel, both at home and overseas.
Since 1992 I have worked fulltime in the area of Education and Training. Engineering has constantly kept my mind challenged by way of striving to keep up with changing technology. It has given me many related interests and hobbies. I find it exciting that technology is continually evolving, leaving us as Managers, Engineers, Technicians, Trades people and Industry Trainers with that constant challenge of catch up.
They say that success in business can only come to those who are willing to embrace change and renewal. It's a fact, whether we like it or not, that all things in life change and renew! Businesses are no different. They move from inception to growth to maturity and regrettably sometimes to decline. For those who wish to remain competitive, and therefore efficient in business, the need to re-invent should be paramount in the ethos of how they think. Indeed, in the industry we have recently begun to use expressions like lifelong learning, a process that refers to constant personal development and renewal. Let this be a reminder about how fast our world is changing!
So, be brave enough and be realistic enough to ask yourself some hard questions... What emphasis does my organisation place on upskilling? Maintaining cutting edge? Perhaps slipping backwards? Is your organisation becoming blinkered and ignoring the reality of change? Is there a real danger of your organisation ultimately going into decline because of the refusal to face up to the reality for the need of change and therefore the need for lifelong learning? As Albert Einstein said "Intellectual growth should commence at birth and only cease at death."
Those who are capable of thinking outside of the box know that professional help in up-skilling is out there and just as importantly they know that the cost is negligible when compared to the alternative. Ask yourself the question... What does it cost to have the process go down for four hours when with a better knowledge it could have been fixed in just an hour? What has that additional 3 hours of downtime cost the company - probably a heck of a lot more that the cost of a training course!
But do I hear you say... What if we train them up and they leave? Well, I say... what if you don't and they stay?
They say that success in business can only come to those who are willing to embrace change and renewal. It's a fact, whether we like it or not, that all things in life change and renew! Businesses are no different. They move from inception to growth to maturity and regrettably sometimes to decline. For those who wish to remain competitive, and therefore efficient in business, the need to re-invent should be paramount in the ethos of how they think. Indeed, in the industry we have recently begun to use expressions like lifelong learning, a process that refers to constant personal development and renewal. Let this be a reminder about how fast our world is changing!
So, be brave enough and be realistic enough to ask yourself some hard questions... What emphasis does my organisation place on upskilling? Maintaining cutting edge? Perhaps slipping backwards? Is your organisation becoming blinkered and ignoring the reality of change? Is there a real danger of your organisation ultimately going into decline because of the refusal to face up to the reality for the need of change and therefore the need for lifelong learning? As Albert Einstein said "Intellectual growth should commence at birth and only cease at death."
Those who are capable of thinking outside of the box know that professional help in up-skilling is out there and just as importantly they know that the cost is negligible when compared to the alternative. Ask yourself the question... What does it cost to have the process go down for four hours when with a better knowledge it could have been fixed in just an hour? What has that additional 3 hours of downtime cost the company - probably a heck of a lot more that the cost of a training course!
But do I hear you say... What if we train them up and they leave? Well, I say... what if you don't and they stay?